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United States Virgin Islands Jewish History

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The first Jews came starting in 1655 from Recife, Suriname, Barbados, Holland and France. The growth of the Jewish population in the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix came because of the destruction of the Jewish community in the nearby Dutch island of St. Eustatius in 1781, which was attacked by The British for having aided The American Revolution. In 1796 the synagogue Berakha v'Shalom v'Gmilut Hassadim in St. Thomas was founded and it exists until the present day. By 1850, half the island's white population was Jewish, or about 400 people. The Danish and then American authorities made Jews governors of the islands. When The Panama Canal opened, most of the Jews left for Panama. By 1942, there were no more than 50 Jews. Since then more Jews have arrived from the American mainland.

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